PUNE: Indian Davis Cupper Sumit Nagal and local star Arjun Kadhe have been awarded wildcards for the main draw of the PMR Open ATP Challenger 100 Mens International Tennis Championship.

Players from 25 various countries have registered for the flagship high-level ATP Challenger, which is sponsored by Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA) under a five-year agreement. It will take place from Sunday, February 26, to Sunday, March 5. The third in a series of ATP Challenger 100 competitions hosted in India, the Pune event is organised by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) at the Balewadi Tennis Stadium. The previous competitions were conducted in Bengaluru and Chennai.

"Providing international competition to Indian players and also promotion of Sports has been one of the major reasons for PMRDA getting involved and supporting this event," he was quoted as saying in a release. one of the key reasons for PMRDA being engaged and supporting this event has been to provide foreign competition to Indian players and also to promote Sports.

The total prize money for the competition is Rs 1.06 crore. 100 ATP ranking points and USD 17650 (Rs.14.47 lakh) will be awarded to the victor, and 60 ATP points and USD 10380 will be awarded to the runner-up (Rs.8.5 lakh) the loser in the first round receives USD1270 (Rs.1.04 lakh). The qualifiers will receive an incentive of  Rs.31,000.

"We are hopeful that the PMR open Challenger will assist our players enormously by providing significant ATP points therefore helping to improve their rankings," stated Sunder Iyer, the Hon Secretary of MSLTA and Tournament Director. From January to March of this year, India was able to award our players a record 700 ATP points.

With participants from 25 nations, the competition is anticipated to be fierce and of the highest calibre.

The Challenger event ran successfully in Pune for five years in a row prior, according to Prashant Sutar, chairman of the MSLTA. "We were thinking of reinstating the Challenger event as it is the most advantageous for Indian Players to acquire vital points," he said. adding that the MSLTA's overarching objective for the growth and promotion of tennis in Maharashtra is being carried out through the organisation of the PMR Challenger event.

32 players total 23 direct acceptances, 3 wild cards, and 6 qualifiers—make up the main draw. There are 24 players in qualifying, plus 4 wild cards.

The 21-year-old world No, 108 Tsen Cheun Hsin from Taipei will lead the tough field. An ex-winner in Pune at KPIT Challenger, James Duckworth of Australia (ranked 137), 26-year-old Sebastian Ofner of Austria (ranked 152), the 27-year-old Peniston Ryan of Great Britain (ranked 159). The talented 19-year-old Luca Nardi of Italy (ranked 164), and Flavio Cobolli of Italy (ranked 172) are the probable seeds of the event

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